Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, November 13, 2008

PalArab press: "Livni threatens to attack mosques"

Here's a perfect example of incitement in the Palestinian Arab press.

The headline at Palestine Today says,

At the UN "Dialogue of Religions" Conference, Peres discusses peace while Livni threatens to attack mosques and "extremists" in war

And here is what Livni really said:

The Middle East conflict is not the cause of extremism. The conflict and the violence are a result of the manipulation of religion and believers by extremist leaders who try to reap political benefits at the expense of innocent believers. The ones who pay the price are the believers themselves.

Today's event sends a very important message to the region, but messages alone are not enough. It's a necessary beginning, but certainly not the end. The beginning of a common struggle against extremists, before it's too late. The Middle East is paying a price because of the extremists living there. Israel will fight extremists, terror and extremism and, at the same time, continue to negotiate, as we are determined to do; we must continue these parallel tracks of counterterrorism and negotiation.

A piece of paper is not enough to achieve a genuine peace; we need to change the message conveyed in the mosques, prayer houses and schools. Extremism is not a gratuitous idea. The fight against extremists is common to the region's leaders. I know that some of the leaders in neighboring countries think it will be easier to live with the extremists, but they had better understand that when they shut their eyes to the hostility emanating from the mosques and the schools, it works against you as a leader, against your people, and against the possibility to bring peace. The change must happen also in our states.

We will continue to negotiate, we will continue to fight terror and extremism, and only when we do both simultaneously will there be peace.

For people who consider the preaching of terrorism in mosques to be mainstream Islam, I guess that her statements do sound like a declaration of war against all mosques.

Fun with the PalArabic press

This morning, four heavily armed Hamas terrorists tried to breach the fence into Israel, and alert Israeli forces killed them:

According to military sources, gunmen approached the fence in an area east of Khan Younis and were about to enter Israeli territory when a paratrooper force identified them and opened fire at them.

Four Palestinians were killed in the clashes and several were injured. One soldier was lightly injured in his hand and was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

The force uncovered Kalashnikov rifles and grenades on the gunmen's bodies.

Ma'an English, of course, reports things completely differently, based on those ever present "eyewitnesses":

Witnesses said Israeli warplanes fired two missiles during fighting between the armed men and Israeli tanks who had invaded. One missile was fired at a mosque, and the other exploded near a school, where the fighters were located.

Other witnesses reported a different version of the airstrike. According this account, three missiles landed near houses belonging to two families named Aal Muhanna and An-Naja, and another landed near the Al-Islah mosque.

It is amazing how "eyewitnesses" can see completely different things, and how they consistently find that Israel is shooting at schools and mosques and never at terrorists. Of course, coincidentally, "resistance fighters" usually are the only ones who happen to be killed while Israel supposedly attacks these mosques and schools.

But Ma'an Arabic shows how Arabs really feel:

Four Martyrs in Israeli shelling east of Qarara sector

...The medical crew found the body of the martyrs...

The Qassam Brigades announced the death in a statement about the martyrs, promising to respond harshly to Israeli aggression.

Ah, they weren't just "fighters" - they were on a holy mission!

Open thread!

Lots of cool comments lately, but no obvious place to put them. Let's put them here!

To start things off, commenter Brad points to a State Department blog where they ask for ideas on how to have Israelis and Palestinian (Arab)s reach an agreement.

Here is also a good place for people to post their bitter partisan post-election bashing.

Pre-pubescent abayas in Saudi Arabia

Normally, Islam asks women to cover themselves when they reach puberty.

But who says that Muslims don't innovate in sharia?

In the southern province of Asir, school regulations stipulate that pre-pubescent girls should dress in such a way that no part of their body, including head and face, is visible.

A child who dares to violate the new dress code faces severe punishment, including a public scolding and deductions from her marks.

This has put parents in a real dilemma. On the one hand, this new dress code is being imposed; on the other, they find it difficult to convince their young daughters that it is necessary for them to be completely veiled.

In addition, the parents have not been able to convince school authorities that little girls are not required to dress as adult women. Though Islam has strict dress regulations for women, they are only applied after girls reach puberty.

Must be that some Asir male teachers were starting to get turned on at the sight of eight year old girls. So they are simply "protecting" them, out of immense honor and respect.

Gaza taking all of Egypt's fuel

Palestine Press Agency reports (autotranslated):

The Egyptian cities near the border with the Gaza Strip are suffering through a severe fuel crisis, because of increased smuggling of gasoline and diesel to Gaza through tunnels stretching across the border, especially after the closure of Gaza's crossings with Israel since the beginning of this week.

There has been increased smuggling of fuel from the cities of El Arish and Rafah and Sheikh near the northern coast of the Strip in special containers, where they are transferred to Gaza through the tunnels to be sold exorbitant prices. This led to the disappearance of gasoline and diesel at fuel stations in the northern Sinai.

It is like the city of Arish residents have to stand for hours in front of gas stations in order to obtain only some of liters, which affected the traffic on the streets, leading to the disappearance of taxis and small buses transport.

The North Sinai Governorate authorities are trying hard to control the smuggling of fuel to Gaza. Governor Major General Mohammed Shusha has ordered the confiscation of any quantities of petrol and diesel packaged and ready for smuggling, dealing with the prohibition of fuel stations to sell fuel in such containers.

Your taxes paying for terrorist life insurance

From Ma'an:

he Palestinian foundation for sponsoring families of “martyrs” and wounded will offer the so-called presidential “noble grant” to 500 families whose members were killed during the Al-Aqsa Intifada (uprising), says Intisar Al-Wazir, the chair of the foundation.

The Director General of the foundation, Khalid Al-Jabareen explained that the payments will affect families of those killed in 2001 and 2002 and have not received that “noble grant” yet. Efforts will continue to pay that grant to all families who have not received it yet. Payment, according to Al-Jabareen will start next week.

The “noble grant” was approved by late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat. The grant is worth Six thousand Israeli Shekels, or 1,500 US dollars.

Of course, this "noble" money goes to pay for families of suicide bombers.

Just like the money Saddam Hussien used to pay to Palestinian Arab terrorists.

And where exactly does the PA get these funds to disburse to terror families? Do you even have to ask?

Abbas pledges to follow the path of terrorism

From YNet:

"The Palestinian leadership will continue to follow Yasser Arafat's path until a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday during a memorial service marking the fourth anniversary of the iconic Palestinian leader's death.

During the memorial, held at Abbas' Mukataa compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian president said, "The path of the shahids - Arafat, George Habash (founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) and (assassinated Hamas spiritual leader) Sheikh Ahmed Yassin - is the path that we cherish; it is aimed at upholding the Palestinians' nationalist and sovereign resolutions."

What great heroes this moderate voice for peace has!

Then again, what do you expect?

This round goes to Hamas

For over four months, Israel managed to maintain a "calm" of sorts with Gaza, with the tacit agreement that there will be no attacks from either side. Although in many ways the original agreement was ignored by Hamas - they continued to smuggle in weapons, they continued to build a huge underground terror infrastructure with the cement Israel allowed in under the agreement, and Gilad Shalit turned from an important part of the agreement to someone completely peripheral - Israel did benefit by having residents of Sderot and other Negev communities being able to live relatively normal lives.

There were violations of the calm by Hamas and other Gaza terror groups, but Israel consistently applied a single rule: for every rocket or mortar shot, Israel would shut off the border for at least a day. The response was immediate and, most importantly, consistent. Hamas arrested Islamic Jihad rocket cells and worked to keep at least part of the deal.

Now, Israel is starting to allow supplies to go into Gaza even while under attack.

Bowing to the ever-present international pressure, where moral midgets like the UNHCR's John Ging will continue to insist that Israel open its borders at the very moment that Qassams are falling on Israeli communities, Israel is poised to resume fuel shipments - despite the fact that Hamas is well positioned to get all the fuel it needs from the elaborate network of tunnels under Rafah that provides cooking oil and gasoline at half the price of Israeli fuel.

Today, Hamas tried to send four well-armed terrorists into Israel - but Israel has let them change the rules of the game where such attacks are going to be considered normal, while Israel continues to provide supplies to an entity determined to destroy it.

The status quo has changed and it was not a change in Israel's favor.

THE place for Jewish singles in Dubai!

A friend of mine just told me he is speaking at an upcoming conference in Dubai, and he said that this is the first time he will ever remove his yarmulka for a talk.

I imagine that this is a good move, given that Dubai's Al-Arabiyah TV is advocating the molestation of Israeli Jewish women, but even so I was curious as to how Jews in general do in that booming, multicultural city.

Imagine my surprise when I saw a place for Dubai singles to look for Jewish partners!

Scrappleface on Arafat in 2004

Four years ago I copied this funny piece from Scrappleface. Alas, the link to the original is gone:

Coroner: Arafat Died of Tilex Poisoning

(2004-11-11) -- The coroner for the Palestinian Authority today announced that former Chairman Yassir Arafat died from 'acute Tilex poisoning,' and blamed the CIA and Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service.

'Infidel agents infiltrated Chairman Arafat's personal quarters and sprayed his bathtub with Tilex, a deadly toxin to certain lifeforms,' said an unnamed spokesman for the coroner. 'We believe the bathtub was poisoned up to two years ago, but Chairman Arafat's exposure came only recently, due to his personal hygiene schedule.'

The coroner said his report 'ensures Mr. Arafat's status as a martyr, which helps to overcome his shameful legacy as the man who signed a peace accord with Israel.'

Happy Death-day, Arafat!

Today is the fourth anniversary of the death of the Egyptian-born lifelong terrorist known as Yasir Arafat.

Palestinian Arabs are mourning the sickening mass murderer. Firas Press has no fewer that 12 articles commemorating his overdue passing.

For a more honest and annotated history of this low-life syphilitic scum, see Honest Reporting's biography.

Hamas aide claims talks with Obama's advisors

I do not have any corroboration for this story, but the Palestine Press Agency is quoting Al Hayat of London as saying that a Hamas aide held talks with Obama's team during the presidential campaign:

Yusuf Ahmed Haniyeh, adviser in the Hamas government, claimed that there was a secret meeting between the leaders of Hamas and advisors to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama in the Gaza Strip.

Yusuf said in an interview broadcast on «London al-Hayat» the "contacts between us and some of his advisers (Obama) came via the Internet and we met some of them in Gaza, but we were cautioned not make any comments about this meeting so as not to negatively affect the electoral campaign, or have the meetings exploited by his Republican rival," John McCain.

He pointed out that "there is still a continuing relationship with Obama advisors," pointing out that he had enjoyed with «fellowship and friendship relationship» with each other when he was resident in the United States. He said that Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh would send a congratulatory message on the occasion of the Obama's victory in the elections.

One of Obama's advisors did meet with Hamas in what he said was as a member of a think tank and having nothing to do with Obama, and he got (temporarily) fired by the Obama team last May for those contacts.

I never heard the name Yusuf Ahmed Haniyeh before and cannot find the original Al Hayat story, so this should be taken a little skeptically. Such a lie could certainly be politically expedient for Hamas.

UPDATE: I misunderstood the autotranslation; the name of the aide is Ahmad Yousef (YNet has the story now.)

Al-Arabiya suggests all Israeli women deserve to be raped

A female Egyptian lawyer argues, on Al-Arabiya TV, that Arab men should sexually harass Israeli women, and suggests that all Israeli women deserve to be raped. From MEMRI, h/t Atlas):

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on October 31, 2008.

Interviewer: Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam has proposed that young Arab men should sexually harass Israeli girls wherever they may be and using any possible method, as a new means in the resistance against Israel.

[...]

Interviewer: We have with us the lawyer Nagla Al-Imam from Cairo. Welcome. What is the purpose of this proposal of yours?

Nagla Al-Imam: This is a form of resistance. In my opinion, they are fair game for all Arabs, and there is nothing wrong with...

Interviewer: On what grounds?

Nagla Al-Imam: First of all, they violate our rights, and they "rape" the land. Few things are as grave as the rape of land. In my view, this is a new form of resistance.

Interviewer: As a lawyer, don't you think this might expose Arab youth to punishment for violating laws against sexual harassment?

Nagla Al-Imam: Most Arab countries... With the exception of three or four Arab countries, which I don’t think allow Israeli women to enter anyway, most Arab countries do not have sexual harassment laws. Therefore, if [Arab women] are fair game for Arab men, there is nothing wrong with Israeli women being fair game as well.

Interviewer: Does this also include rape?

Nagla Al-Imam: No. Sexual harassment... In my view, the [Israeli women] do not have any right to respond. The resistance fighters would not initiate such a thing, because their moral values are much loftier than that. However if such a thing did happen to them, the [Israeli women] have no right to make any demands, because this would put us on equal terms – leave the land so we won't rape you. These two things are equal.

[...]

I don’t want young Arab men to be interrogated. I want these Zionist girls with Israeli citizenship to be expelled from our Arab countries. This is a form of resistance, and a way of rejecting their presence.

So this Egyptian woman is pretty much telling her countrymen and fellow Arabs to rape any visiting Israeli women.

Just to emphasize: this is an opinion that was aired on the Al-Arabiya channel, based out of "moderate" Dubai, showing the opinion of a lawyer from "moderate" Egypt, essentially condoning the rape of Israeli women.

And they call Jews savages!

Hamas' latest blackout stunt

Since the tahdiya agreement in June, every violation of the "calm" has resulted in Israel stopping food and fuel delivery to Gaza for a day or so.

The daily rocket barrage that started last week likewise resulted in Israel's stopping fuel deliveries since they started, for six days now.

Hamas is using this opportunity to stage blackouts in Gaza, just like they did last year. They claim that they suffer from a shortage of industrial diesel to run their Gaza City power plant. Just like last time, they already staged a candlelight protest to coincide with their first night of sporadic outages!

What they don't say is that 75% of Gaza's electricity is provided by Israel and Egypt directly and that this supply has not been interrupted.

What they are also not saying is that the many tunnels under Rafah now supply more fuel to Gaza than Israel did before the latest attacks - 150,000 liters a day, compared to the 120,000 that Israel was providing.

Not only that, but the Egyptian diesel is cheaper than Israel's, allowing Gazans to purchase fuel at half the price that Israelis pay! Hamas has already informed Israel that they will not need diesel for their fleet of cars, as they are getting that from Egypt.

Even so, Israel is considering resuming shipments of fuel while rockets continue to be shot at Israel. Thankfully, today it decided not to.

While it is probably true that the Egyptian diesel is not suitable for Gaza's power plant, almost certainly Hamas could get its hands on proper industrial diesel to keep the plant going, but it prefers to stage blackouts to gain world sympathy - and cause its citizens to suffer.

Gaza freak, keffiyeh chic

Some of the Hamas-friendly freaks who arrived on the latest Free Gaza boat, members of various world parliaments, decided that terror-chic clothing were de rigueur:

Saudi marries off 12-year old over mother's objections

A new twist in Saudi child abuse:

A Saudi mother filed a complaint with the Jizan police against her ex-husband for marrying off their 12-year-old daughter without the mother’s knowledge.
The woman who has the custody of her daughter claims that her child is too young to get married and the father did not inform her of his plans to marry the girl.
Maj. Ahmed Al-Wada’ani, official spokesman for Jizan police, told Arab News that after the woman filed the complaint police brought in the girl’s father for questioning.
“The man simply asked his daughter whether she wanted to get married to a certain person or not, and he claims that she completely approved her marriage,” said Al-Wada’ani. However, the case is being transferred to the Shariah court for a decision.

Legal custody clearly is meaningless when it goes up against sharia law that holds women in such high esteem.

Why exactly are they bulletproof again?

Ma'an has an ominous-sounding article about Rachel's Tomb:

Dozens of armored buses brought hundreds of ultra-orthodox Jewish worshippers to pray at Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Tour buses lined the streets on the western side of the seperation wall, and roads were blocked off from Tantur to the Beit Jala (Gilo) checkpoint as hundreds of worshipers in black coats and hats gathered in the area.

The mass prayer gatherings were organized by the Mosdos Kever Rachel (Rachel's Tomb Institute) around the date believed to be the anniversary of Rachel's death. The official date set by the group is 9 November, but worshipers overwhelmed the area on Saturday evening as well.

The Institute runs a Jewish religious school at the tomb, and funds a daily bullet-proof bus service that brings Jewish worshippers from Jerusalem to the tomb.

The biblical Rachel is revered as one of the four matriarchs of the Jewish people, and Jewish tradition holds that she was buried by her husband Jacob in Bethlehem. The tomb is also a holy site for Muslims and Christians, and the location of the Bilal Ibn Rabah mosque, which is now inaccessible to West Bank Palestinians.

Ma'an doesn't bother to explain that as little as ten years ago the buses that went to Bethlehem weren't bulletproof. In fact, ordinary cars could travel there and people could even walk there!

What could possibly have happened that would cause these threatening, black-clad ultra-religious fanatical Jews to be forced to use armored buses to travel to the third holiest site in Judaism?

And is there any Jewish holy place that Muslims don't also claim as their own?

It's a real mystery....

The Arab world's nightmare

As we have seen in the past, the Iraqi refugees of Palestinian Arab origin are symbolic of the hatred that the Arab world has for Palestinian Arabs. The UNHCR has tried mightily for years to find permanent homes for these people, kicked out of Iraq, but no Arab country (save for a cynical Sudan) has offered to help.

The only countries that do help - Canada, Iceland, Chile and a few others - are vilified by Arabs who pretend to care about their Palestinian brethren, and the reason is clear: to them, "resettlement" means that the refugees will no longer be pawns in the gigantic game of pressuring Israel. Every Palestinian Arab who no longer sits in stateless misery is one less bullet against Israel. The very idea of Palestinian Arabs becoming full citizens of Arab countries is treated as blasphemy, an idea that the UNRWA tried to push in the 1950s but was so violently rebuffed that it became the largest perpetuator of PalArab pain in the guise of gigantic, ever growing "refugee camps."

And the only people that get hurt are Palestinian Arabs themselves. The Arab world congratulates itself on maintaining "Palestinian unity" but it is just a code word for Palestinian Arab misery.

The very few that manage to escape are the proof.

An article in the "Women's International Perspective" about a handful of these Iraqi refugees that made it to Chile includes the words that no Arab leader, and especially no Palestinian Arab leader, wants to see:

Five months into their time in Chile, a strong sense of community is already apparent within Villa La Pina; the refugee children sit playing in the courtyard with their Chilean counterparts and make valiant efforts at playing the traditional game of trompos. As we talk to Basem, his front door is left open and the daughter of the Chilean family next door wanders in and out, enchanted by the newest addition to the Hamlawis – baby Tabarak. At just six days old, Tabarak is the first of the new immigrants to receive full Chilean nationality, although she will be brought up reminded of her heritage. When we ask for a photo of the new baby with her mother, 18 year old Isra, Basem disappears and returns with two Palestinians scarves which he drapes proudly around his young family.

The Chilean based campaign Transforma el dolor en amor (Transform the pain into love) works to promote the refugees’ right to return to the Palestinian homeland. Despite the refugees’ obvious attachment to their nation, however, the relocation to Chile seems to be considered as a permanent move. “I have no intention of going back,” Thamer tells me, “I live in Chile now.”

These are the words that send chills up the spines of Abbas, Assad and other Arab leaders whose positions are based on the existence of an oppressed Palestinian Arab population.

Because if the "refugees" can be resettled and become happy and productive parts of other nations, their so-called "leaders" lose one of their biggest weapons that keep them in power.

Auschwitz blueprints discovered: the banality of evil

The Jerusalem Post reports on an article in Bild about the discovery of original blueprints for Auschwitz that leave no doubt as to its purpose:

The German newspaper Bild published never-before-seen architectural plans of the Auschwitz extermination camp on Saturday that reveal, in their unequivocally marked sections, that everyone involved in the operation of Auschwitz knew full well that it was intended for the systematic extermination of human beings, the paper said.

The floor plans, cross-sections and maps on yellowing paper, mostly on a scale of 1:100, were reportedly found during the evacuation of an abandoned Berlin apartment. They were drawn up between 1941 and 1943.

The 28 documents include detailed blueprints of prisoner barracks, gas chambers marked clearly Gaskammer (Gas chamber) in a gothic-inspired font and a cross-section of the gate into which the rails of trains entered carrying Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled persons and other people the National Socialists sent to die.

One of the maps carries the handwritten signature of Gestapo commander Heinrich Himmler.

The plans were not construction plans but were drawn after Auschwitz-Birkenau was built (on the foundations of an old military base from the Austro-Hungarian Empire).

On January 20, 1942, Nazi officials met in the resort of Wannsee east of Berlin where they devised the Final Solution, and this has traditionally been taken by historians as the beginning of the Nazis' extermination campaign.

One of the drawings, predating the Wannsee Conference by eight months, sheds new light on the chronology of the German genocide machine.

Dr. Hans-Dieter Kreikamp, chief director of the Bundesarchivs, the federal archives in Berlin, said the find was of "extraordinary importance."

"The plans are authentic certificates of a systematically planned genocide of European Jews," Bild quoted Kreikamp as saying.

As the plans show a "Laundry and shower room" leading into a "Dressing room" and then to the "Gas chamber," there could be no doubt of the purpose of the large room marked Gaskammer.

The documents rebut the last of those who would deny the Holocaust, Bild said in its report.

To understand the sheer number of people involved in and complicit with the world largest death factory, I want to concentrate on one tiny tidbit.

Here is the plan for the gas chamber:

"Vorraum" is the vestibule, "Schleuse" are locks and "Gaskammer" is the gas chamber itself. Outside the vestibule are a "dressing room" and a "laundry and shower room."

Think about how much effort went into the plans themselves. Forget the hundreds of workers who used those plans to actually build the death camp - just the anonymous architects and draftsmen who had to calculate the sizes of these "dressing rooms" and "shower rooms," and how exactly to build airlocks between deadly gas-filled room and the rest of the structure. Note the German efficiency of ensuring that there is a separate entrance and exit, to make the factory that much more effective.

Someone decided that a Gothic font would be the most appropriate one to use to describe "gas chamber." A different, meticulously hand-drawn font was used for the blueprints of the crematorium itself.

Another person thoughtfully drew some trees on each side fo the crematorium, with a chimney a little off the center.

These are utterly ordinary architectural drawings, complete with cross-hatchings to symbolize where brickwork would be. People drew up these plans, consulted with their superiors about details, asked questions about the dimensions and uses of the buildings so they could be designed more efficiently and modified the blueprints accordingly. They were meticulously drawn with pride and a sense of accomplishment.

The draftsmen went home to their families after a day of drawing exacting representations of gas chambers and crematoria, they ate hearty meals and told jokes about their workday.

These are only a small number of the many who knew quite well what was happening during the Holocaust, and they all deserve a special place in hell.

Gaza quintuplets named after terrorists

Haniyeh "ready for serious dialogue with Obama"

Firas Press reports that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has declared that he is ready to have a "real and serious" dialogye with President-elect Obama.

He hopes that Obama "learns from the mistakes of the previous administration" and not to remain aligned with Israel.

He made these statements while visiting a new mother of quintuplets in the West Bank, who named the babies after Hamas leaders.

Sorry, this joke doesn't translate well.
(h/t Yisrael Medad)

"Insult to Islam" of the day

From Lebanese news source Menassat:

The Moroccan Ministry of Communication banned the entry of the international-edition of the French daily L’Express to Morocco on October 31 because of a report that was published in its October 30 issue.

One of the articles was titled "Jesus, the rebel message," and another “Mohammad, prophet and warrior”, to establish the differences between Islam and Christianity.

Managing editor Christian Makarian said he didn't understand this reaction because the articles deal about the conflicting relation Islam can have with other religions, but never contained any defaming or offensive sentences.

The Moroccan Ministry of Communication simply banned the publishing of this newspaper, declaring that the report is “an insult to Islam”, based on article 29 of the Moroccan Press Code, which permits the ban of newspapers “when they insult Islam, the royal regime, the territorial integrity, the respect to the King and the public order.”

Magazine staff are surprised and don’t seem to understand why they are being blamed.

Preemptive measures were taken: in order to respect the Moroccan sensibilities, the face of Mohammad was veiled, in conformity with Islam to not show the face of the Prophet.

No precise article was mentioned, which means the whole report is suspected.

However, the report doesn’t bring any new information. The articles were inspired by Christian Makarian’s book, The confrontation: Jesus-Mohammad, with the sub-title, Jesus and Mohammad don’t speak of the same God.

According to the site algerie-dz, the part entitled, Mohammad, prophet or warrior, was the reason behind the ban, which would be a paradox, knowing that the Sira as well as the Quran described the warrior activities of Mohammad, even mentioning how he distributed his loot.

The document, going back to the Quran, also reminds that the Holy book mentioned that the “previous ones”, the Thora as well as the Gospels, were falsified, and that the Christians will add Mary to the Trinity.

Hence, the comparison between the Bible and the Quran, is difficult, with the ill-established bases.

“In respect to the religious sensitivity of our Moroccan readers,” adds Makarian, we took care to conceive a cover specially dedicated to the international edition, with the face of Mohammad being veiled, in conformity to Islams customs.

The image used is issued from an Ottoman manuscript of the XVI century and was not modified. Despite this special attention that shows our respect to the Moroccan public and Islam, we were banned. I don’t understand.”

Of course he doesn't understand. He thinks that there is a logic behind what Muslims will consider insulting.

Meanwhile, in Gaza....

Hamas arrested 50 Fatah members at a meeting in Gaza, on the eve of the unification negotiations in Cairo. This must be what is called a "confidence-building measure" in that part of the world.

And since they were in the mood, Hamas also arrested three journalists from Fatah's Ramattan News Agency. (I saw that they had detained an AFP reporter yesterday but cannot find the story now. Reporters Without Borders, as usual, is silent.)

And for the hat-trick, Hamas also raided some sort of computer laboratory in Gaza City, also associated with Fatah, and arrested the Fatah-linked governor of Gaza there.

Labor MK gives best reason to oppose Labor/Kadima

The Jerusalem Post reports that the Israeli Kadima and Labor parties are warning that a Netanyahu government would be disastrous for Israel because Obama and Bibi would not get along:

Labor and Kadima MKs said that Netanyahu was "too much of a Republican" to get along with Democrat Obama. They warned that electing Netanyahu in the February 10 general election would be a recipe for deteriorating ties between Israel and its closest ally in the world.

Kadima leader Tzipi Livni hinted at Netanyahu when she warned that "if Israel puts itself in a corner and is seen as rejecting diplomatic processes, we could enter an era that is worse than the current one."

This is exactly wrong. The PA has not been exactly dovish concerning the "peace process" by any objective measure; only compared to Hamas and the other "extremists." Nevertheless, the US sends Condoleeza Rice every couple of months to genuflect before Abbas, even though he has made no concessions on fundamental issues - and the PA leadership has made very clear they have no intention on any real compromise in the future.

The reason that the US pressures Israel is because Israeli leadership sends signals that it is ready to keep conceding more and more for an illusory "peace." Instead of pointing to Gaza as an object lesson of the futility of concessions, Olmert and his people tell the US with their actions and words that they are prepared to keep on giving in exchange for worthless and unenforceable promises.

Israel's leaders have co-opted the positions of their extreme Left of ten years ago. There is no way that Yitzchak Rabin would have countenanced someone from his party saying this:

"It would be a missed opportunity if we elect Netanyahu," Labor MK Ophir Paz-Pines said. "Netanyahu's English is fluent, but they still won't understand each other. Obama will try to advance the peace process from day one, and he can do it, because he has more trust from the Arab world than his predecessor.

"Then Netanyahu would say no to the Saudi peace plan, no to dividing Jerusalem, no to withdrawing from the Golan. That's why it's so important that the center-Left bloc win our election."

One cannot find a better argument against Labor/Kadima than that highlighted sentence. Labor/Kadima says "yes" to every concession and every threat to Israel's existence, and they ridicule those who think that being surrounded by Iranian proxies within short rocket distance from the entire population of Israel is a bad thing. In addition, Labor/Kadima is eager to divest the Jewish State from historical Jewish land and every major Jewish shrine.

Bibi and Likud are far from perfect, but experience shows that standing up for your rights gains you more respect in the West, not less.

5000!

This is my 5000th published posting.

Which brings up the question:

What am I, nuts?

This amusing poster comes from an exhibit at the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. It also applies to one current exhibit in its sister museum, the Experience Music Project.

The American Moslem Brotherhood, 1893

In 1893, on the third floor of 30 E. 23rd Street in New York City, was the headquarters of the American Moslem Brotherhood.

The organization was the brainchild of what most consider to be the first American to convert to Islam, named (Mohammed) Alexander Russell Webb.

Webb converted to Islam while he worked in the US Consulate in the Philippines. He then went to India on a fundraising mission to spread the faith to America: (Washington Post, December 21, 1892)

He arrived in New York City in February of 1893, enthusiastic and full of major plans, and quite willing to use the New York Times (Feb. 25, 1893) as his means of spreading Islam in America:

Webb did manage to start an Islamic publishing company as well as a Muslim school and a mosque. But unlike his initial comments, he started backtracking upon the goal of converting Americans to Islam, now saying that he only wanted to educate them about Mohammedeanism. (NYT 10/8/1893)

And a milestone was achieved in December of 1893, as the Muslim call to prayer was first sounded in New York City: (12/11/1893 NYT)

But all was not Paradise for Mr. Webb. He got into a dispute with one of his workers at the publishing company and she barricaded herself in the office demanding to be paid money he owed her. (This is the first article that refers to his organization as the American Moslem Brotherhood.) The worker, Nefeesa Keep, also alleged various monetary indiscretions from Webb, saying that he solicited and took large amounts of money from rich Muslims abroad and used them for his personal needs (7/16/1894):

The first American Muslim convert retaliated by accusing Keep of stealing from the office; Nefeesa turned around and filed a complaint against Webb and his wife on conspiracy charges.

She then added an additional charge of mail fraud:

The following year, an Indian prince came to America to see how his money meant for converting Americans to Islam was being spent, and he left sorely disappointed. The New York Times did a very large piece on this, interviewing both the prince and Webb. Webb strongly denied receiving most of the money from the Nawab and was found to be living in poverty.

Webb again in this interview denied wanting to convert most Americans to Islam.

Webb vigorously defended himself, giving an exact tally to the Times of every amount he received from India.

Things quickly went downhill for Webb and his mission. There was lots of name-calling and blaming, and Webb became disillusioned at the idea of having any success in America. He blamed the lack of funds on his failure as well as some of his partners who split off from him.

Strikingly, even at a time that the media was explicitly racist in many guises, Alexander Russell Webb's faith was treated with respect - there was no "Islamophobia" in America in the late 19th century.

Obama asks son of Israeli to be Chief of Staff

Barack Obama's first choice for White House Chief of Staff is Rahm Emanuel, and it appears likely that he will take the job. The best news about Emanuel can be seen in, of all places, the pro-terror Electronic Intifada website. Its editor, Ali Abunimah, has expressed bitter disappointment that Obama has not been publicly espousing the pro-Palestinian Arab stance of his earlier career, and his description of Emanuel is filled with loathing:

During the United States election campaign, racists and pro-Israel hardliners tried to make an issue out of President-elect Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. Such people might take comfort in another middle name, that of Obama's pick for White House Chief of Staff: Rahm Israel Emanuel. Emanuel is Obama's first high-level appointment and it's one likely to disappointment [sic] those who hoped the president-elect would break with the George W. Bush Administration's pro-Israel policies. White House Chief of Staff is often considered the most powerful office in the executive branch, next to the president. Obama has offered Emanuel the position according to Democratic party sources cited by media including Reuters and The New York Times. Rahm Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1959, the son of Benjamin Emanuel, a pediatrician who helped smuggle weapons to the Irgun, the Zionist militia of former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, in the 1940s. Emanuel continued his father's tradition of active support for Israel; during the 1991 Gulf War he volunteered to help maintain Israeli army vehicles near the Lebanon border when southern Lebanon was still occupied by Israeli forces. As White House political director in the first Clinton administration, Emanuel orchestrated the famous 1993 signing ceremony of the "Declaration of Principles" between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. One of the most influential politicians and fundraisers in his party, Emanuel accompanied Obama to a meeting of AIPAC's executive board just after the Illinois senator had addressed the pro-Israel lobby's conference last June. In Congress, Emanuel has been a consistent and vocal pro-Israel hardliner, sometimes more so than President Bush. In June 2003, for example, he signed a letter criticizing Bush for being insufficiently supportive of Israel. "We were deeply dismayed to hear your criticism of Israel for fighting acts of terror," Emanuel, along with 33 other Democrats wrote to Bush. The letter said that Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian political leaders "was clearly justified as an application of Israel's right to self-defense" ("Pelosi supports Israel's attacks on Hamas group," San Francisco Chronicle, 14 June 2003). In July 2006, Emanuel was one of several members who called for the cancellation of a speech to Congress by visiting Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki because al-Maliki had criticized Israel's bombing of Lebanon. Emanuel called the Lebanese and Palestinian governments "totalitarian entities with militias and terrorists acting as democracies" in a 19 July 2006 speech supporting a House resolution backing Israel's bombing of both countries that caused thousands of civilian victims. Emanuel has sometimes posed as a defender of Palestinian lives, though never from the constant Israeli violence that is responsible for the vast majority of deaths and injuries. On 14 June 2007 he wrote to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "on behalf of students in the Gaza Strip whose future is threatened by the ongoing fighting there" which he blamed on "the violence and militancy of their elders." In fact, the fighting between members of Hamas and Fatah, which claimed dozens of lives, was the result of a failed scheme by US-backed militias to violently overthrow the elected Hamas-led national unity government. Emanuel's letter urged Rice "to work with allies in the region, such as Egypt and Jordan, to either find a secure location in Gaza for these students, or to transport them to a neighboring country where they can study and take their exams in peace." Palestinians often view such proposals as a pretext to permanently "transfer" them from their country, as many Israeli leaders have threatened. Emanuel has never said anything in support of millions of Palestinian children whose education has been disrupted by Israeli occupation, closures and blockades. Emanuel has also used his position to explicitly push Israel's interests in normalizing relations with Arab states and isolating Hamas. In 2006 he initiated a letter to President Bush opposing United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Dubai Ports World's attempt to buy the management business of six US seaports. The letter, signed by dozens of other lawmakers, stated that "The UAE has pledged to provide financial support to the Hamas-led government of the Palestinian Authority and openly participates in the Arab League boycott against Israel." It argued that allowing the deal to go through "not only could place the safety and security of US ports at risk, but enhance the ability of the UAE to bolster the Hamas regime and its efforts to promote terrorism and violence against Israel" ("Dems Tie Israel, Ports," Forward, 10 March 2006). Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, told Fox News that picking Emanuel is "just another indication that despite the attempts to imply that Obama would somehow appoint the wrong person or listen to the wrong people when it comes to the US-Israel relationship ... that was never true." Over the course of the campaign, Obama publicly distanced himself from friends and advisers suspected or accused of having "pro-Palestinian" sympathies. There are no early indications of a more balanced course.

When Ali Abuminah is angry, this is usually a good sign.

Heroes!

From AP (h/t Weasel Zippers):

With painting of Jesus Christ, top left, and late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, top right, late Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, bottom left, and former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, bottom right, Palestinian painter Waleed Ayyoub adds the last touches on a painting he drew of Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, in the center of the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008.

"Moderate" Fatah claims Israel inventing history in Jerusalem

As I reported last night, it is not only the "Al Aqsa Foundation" who spoke out against the rebuilding of the ancient and historic Hurva synagogue in the Jewish Quarter.

The PA's chief negotiator and former prime minister Ahmed Qurei has slammed the building of the synagogue, calling it a "danger" and furthermore accusing Israel of fabricating a Jewish history in Jerusalem.

In addition, as I wrote, one of the things that really upsets the Arabs is the height of the Hurva. As Palestine News Network writes:

The skyline around Abdullah bin Omar, or Omari Mosque, will be dwarfed by the new synagogue creating the illusion that the Old City of Jerusalem is Jewish.

Yet Jerusalem in 1900 included not one but two tall domed synagogues that dominated the skyline, the Hurva and the Tiferes Yisrael synagogues, as can be seen in the lower right of this picture (click to enlarge):

This picture of Tiferes Yisrael shows how it dominated its immediate surroundings, circa 1940:

An interesting implication about this new kerfuffle is that it proves beyond any doubt that Israel's "moderate" peace partners are anti-Jewish, not only anti-Zionist. The Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem has been around since at least Second Temple times but the apparent official policy of the PA is to render it Judenrein, exactly the way Jordan did in 1948 when it demolished 35 synagogues there.

The fact that the PA does not countenance the presence of any Jews or the restoration of destroyed synagogues in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem shows that their policy is one of ethnic cleansing, not peace.

Followup on Damascus, 1816

Kashmiri Nomad takes me to task for misreading James Silk Cunningham's description of ">an encounter between the richest Jew in Damascus and a dervish in tattered clothes. He correctly points out that the dervish is not a servant:

The comparison that Buckingham made was not between the richest Jew in all of Damascus and a servant but rather was a comparison between the richest Jew in all of Damascus and a Sufi dervish. For any one in any doubt Muslim societies that venerate the sufic mystical interpretation of Islam that naked tatters wearing dervish would have been in a higher social status than even the prime minister himself . Therefore for elder of ziyon to characterise him as a servant is misleading to say the least.

I wish he would have commented here so I could have corrected it earlier.

While Kashmiri Nomad (who links here often) says this is a case of the "pot calling the kettle black" in terms of today's discrimination that Arabs suffer in Israel, my point still stands: the richest Jew in Damascus still had to spend an entire meal "seated ...with the greatest possible humility on the floor beneath us, at the feet of his superiors who occupied the sofa, first kneeling, and then sitting back while kneeling, on the heels and soles of his feet, with these and his hands completely covered, in an attitude and with an air of the most abject and unqualified humiliation." The visiting Christians and the Muslims in the room enjoyed fine foods and were attended to by servants, while the Jew was given nothing and apparently ignored by the servants, and was denied a place at the table.

So while I certainly was mistaken as to the social standing of dervishes, the point is that in 1816 Damascus, even the most powerful Jews were treated like dirt.

It is undeniable that there is discrimination in Israel against Arabs, but the difference is that it is roundly considered by most to be a bad thing, while in the Muslim world the social discrimination against non-Muslims is an essential feature of the religion.

Here we go again: 35 rockets, mortars from Gaza

Yesterday, the IDF went into Gaza in force for the first time since the "calm" in order to destroy the opening of a tunnel that was meant for abducting Israeli soldiers. As a result, six Hamas members were killed, and chances are that the streak of 19 weeks in a row of more internal PalArab deaths than IDF-caused deaths is going to be over this week.

While the IDF took pains to say that this was a one-time only operation to defuse a "ticking tunnel," and clearly building tunnels to kidnap soldiers is also a violation of the truce, Hamas has responded with 35 Qassams and mortar shells. And Hamas took credit as well, claiming 33 mortars and 4 rockets.

UPDATE: By sheer coincidence, Hamas' Qassam Brigades' leader said on Monday "we vow to strike the Zionist enemy anywhere inside the occupied Palestinian territories, therefore we will, Inshallah (God's Willing), carry out quality operations inside [Israel]."

Sharia! 13-year old rape victim stoned to death in Somalia

From the NYT:

The United Nations said Tuesday that a Somali stoned to death by Islamist militants after she had been accused of adultery was a 13-year-old girl who had been raped while visiting her grandmother.

In the first such public killing by the militants in about two years, she was placed in a hole and stoned to death on Oct. 28 in a rebel-held port city, Kismayu, in front of a crowd, after local leaders said she was guilty under Shariah, the legal code of Islam based on the Koran.

“Reports indicate that she had been raped by three men while traveling on foot to visit her grandmother in the war-torn capital, Mogadishu,” Unicef, the United Nations children’s agency, said in a statement.

“Following the assault, she sought protection from the authorities, who then accused her of adultery and sentenced her to death,” Unicef added. “A child was victimized twice — first by the perpetrators of the rape and then by those responsible for administering justice.”

The human rights group Amnesty International has identified the girl as Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow and said she was killed by 50 men who stoned her in a stadium in Kismayu in front of about 1,000 spectators.

When the family tried to report the rape to the Shabab militia that controls Kismayu, the girl was accused of adultery and was detained. None of the men she accused of rape have been arrested.

A Somali news agency adds more disturbing details:

Thousands of people witnessed the grotesque execution of Aisha at a football stadium in the port town of Kismayo on Monday.

The 13-year old was led in and forced into a hole in the ground. The hole was then filled so that only her head was showing. About 50 men then started to throw stones at her, according to Amnesty’s information.

After a while, nurses were called to check whether Aisha was still alive. The thin body was then brought out of the hold and examined. When it was established that she was still alive, she was again placed in the hole so that the stone-throwers could continue.

When some of the spectators tried to storm the stadium to save Aisha, the militia opened fire on the crowd, and a young boy was killed.

A spokesman for the Shabab-militia expressed regret for the boy’s death and assured that the soldiers who had opened fire would be punished.

However, it would seem that the men whom13-year old Aisha tried to report for rape have little to fear. None of them have been arrested.

The story has been out for over a day now, and we have yet to hear any condemnation by Muslim leaders.

Muslims take aim at Hurva Synagogue

The last time we saw the "Al Aqsa Foundation," they were seething and whining over the opening of the rebuilt Ohel Yitzchak synagogue at the base of the Temple Mount.

Now, they have suddenly noticed that the Hurva synagogue, one of the most famous and largest in the Old City before it was destroyed in 1948, is close to completion. Although this rebuilding of the structure that was deliberately blown up by the Jordanian army in 1948 has been no secret, something seems to have gotten the Al Aqsa Foundation's attention now:

Its iconic dome is now well on its way to completion.

This is what Hurva looked like before 1948:

And this is what it looks like now in the closing stages of its rebuilding:

The Muslim whiners seem to have two problems with Hurva's rebuilding. The first is a completely asinine claim that there was a mosque at that site.

The second problem is that the Hurva's dome has changed the skyline of Old Jerusalem, since it is one of the tallest structures in the Old City. Islam requires that the highest religious structure in any city always to be a mosque, and the existence of a tall synagogue is a huge insult to a people who are perpetually looking for reasons to seethe.

UPDATE: The PA has joined in condemning this attempt to "Judaize" the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem.

Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'

Time for a couple of Seattle tourist shots taken this week...

Here's the Space Needle (two pictures autostitched, click to see larger):

And here is the Experience Music Project museum, which also houses a science fiction museum (5 pictures auto-stitched):

Finally, here is a wall I stumbled upon near the Pike Street Market that is filled with people's used gum, simultaneously disgusting and beautiful:

You have to click on it to see the detail.

Four killed, three missing in a tunnel collapse

From Palestine Today (English):

Four people were killed and three went missing in the collapse of an underground tunnel Sunday north of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, security sources said.

Sources from Hamas informed Egyptian authorities of the incident.

Egypt is still searching for the missing people inside the tunnel, the source said.

The identities of the dead and missing were not immediately known, the source said.

Four Palestinians were injured and hospitalized earlier Sunday after the collapse of another tunnel, according to Palestinian medical sources.

Chances are that these tunnels collapsed due to the recent rains in Gaza.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 211.

The Palestinian Authority's endorsement (guess who?)

Palestine Today reports (autotranslated and cleaned up):

The Palestinian Authority does not officially announce its position on the U.S. elections, as that is "an internal matter," but off the record at their headquarters in Ramallah this is not the case.

According to informed sources in Ramallah, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad are both hoping for an Obama victory despite his pro-Israel statements. Those statements, according to media sources, are meant to earn the approval of the Israelis and the Jewish lobby in the United States.

The sources said that during their last meeting, Barack Obama emphasized to Abbas and Fayyad the right of the Palestinians to East Jerusalem, and their right to a stable, sovereign state.

Hamas stated that the comparison between Obama and McCain are a "choice between bad and worse" in terms of foreign policy issues with the upcoming Arab and Islamic world, particularly the Palestinian issue.

Meanwhile, Lebanese-Americans in Hezbollah country seem to like Obama as well.

Like other Lebanese-Americans in the Hizbullah bastion of Bint Jbeil, Hussein al-Sayyed speaks fondly of the American way of life and says he plans to cast his vote for Barack Obama.

The United States and its regional ally Israel consider Hizbullah to be a terrorist organization responsible for many attacks on Westerners and Israelis.

"I'll vote for Obama, that's for sure," Sayyed, a Shiite 48-year-old restaurant owner and fan of the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini, told Agence France Presse ahead of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.

Freedom of expression, Hamas-style

While Hamas and Fatah are trying to hammer out a reconciliation agreement in Cairo, Hamas has just warned printers in Gaza not to print any pictures of Yassir Arafat.

Firas Press reports that Hamas threatened to shut down any printer who dares create an Arafat or Fatah poster as the fourth anniversary of Arafat's death is next week.

Hamas sent thugs to a number of printers in Gaza to warn them personally, and to threaten them with arrest and the loss of their equipment if they don't listen.

Today's lie masquerading as news

Ma'an once again shows its propensity towards falsehood (even though it remains better than most Palestinian Arab media) with this absurd article:

Disturbing long range plans from the Israeli Antiquities Authority outline strategies for the construction of a Jewish Temple on the site where the Al-Aqsa Mosque now stands, a Jerusalem researcher says.

The plans were obtained by Palestinian archaeologist and researcher Dr Ibrahim Al-Fanni, who revealed the drafts and drawings to Ma’an’s Jerusalem correspondent.

The papers showed sketches outlining the demolition of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Marwani mosque (Solomon’s stables) beneath the building.

The series of designs is titled the “Comprehensive Strategic Plan,” and is divided into two possible routes.

“Plan A” outlines the architectural and archaeological plans in the eventuality that Israel fails to demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The plan involves opening up the Fatimi Halls, which are located under the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The halls would be turned into a Jewish Temple, and construction would gradually move to the upper part of the compound, taking over space in Al-Aqsa.

“Plan B” would see the demolition of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the construction of a Jewish “Royal Palace” on the same site, which Muslims believe was the spot from which the Prophet Muhammad started his journey into the heavens.

Asked why Israel would choose to target the Dome of the Rock, which is not a holy site in Judaism, Dr Al-Fanni explained that “under the spot where the golden dome stands, according to Judaism, there is an exposed piece of bedrock of what they call Mount Moriah- metaphysically known as Even Ishtiah which is a Hebrew term meaning “drinking stone.” [sic] Judaism says that the world is spiritually nourished from this spot…the stone is the center of the Universe.”

I'm sure that there are some Jews who draw up plans on destroying the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock and replacing it with the third Temple. Heck, I would love to see those continuous Muslim desecrations of Judaism relocated to Ramallah or Jordan (it would be a shame to destroy what is certainly some impressive architecture.)

But it is ridiculous to think that the Israel Antiquities Authority would draw up such plans. It will be recalled that the IAA refused to stop the Waqf from destroying priceless Jewish artifacts as the Muslims attempt to get rid of any evidence Jewish temples at that spot. Far from being complicit in any plot to destroy the mosques, the IAA is complicit in the continuing destruction of the Temple.

Ma'an claims that this archaeologist showed them these documents, yet there are no pictures or drawings shown. The article is illustrated with a file photo of ancient Jerusalem. Surely if Ma'an really was shown these purported documents, they would have taken copious photocopies and plastered them all over the article.

The most ancient and second-holiest place in Judaism, the Cave of Machpela, was placed off-limits to Jews and Christians by the Muslims until 1967. This is attested to in many diaries of Jews and Christians who visited there, and exceptions were very rare (the Prince of Wales famously visited in 1862 after getting a waiver from the Ottoman Sultan.) Now it is at least partially accessible to Jews. The Temple Mount should be treated similarly - at the very least. But the IAA is certainly not going to be the ones who do it.

From Ma'an:

A Palestinian shopkeeper displays mugs with pictures of Barack Obama in his shop in Gaza.

The other two people pictured on mugs are also quite popular in Gaza.

Flag burning score tightens

The main headline at YNet as of this writing is "Settlers Burn Palestinian Flag."

Which means that the ratio of Israeli flags burned to Palestinian Arab flags burned now stands at roughly 200,000 to one.

You know what that will be called?

"Disproportionate response."

Proof that early Zionists didn't want to displace Arabs

The Keren HaYesod is a part of the worldwide fundraising apparatus for the World Zionist Organization. Founded in 1920, its purpose at that time was to raise money for Jews to move to Palestine.

A book that was effectively the blueprint for the Keren HaYesod was published upon its founding. It reflects with complete accuracy the feelings of the mainstream worldwide Zionist movement as of 1920, in the wake of the Balfour declaration and before there was any Palestinian Arab nationalism to speak of.

Here is a portion of the group's manifesto from that book, which describes the urgency of the project to save countless lives as well as, peripherally, the desire not to displace the Arab population in Palestine. (It is easy to forget how bad things were for Jews in Eastern Europe before the rise of the Nazis, but this manifesto describes it in stark terms that seem prophetic in retrospect.)

The Keren ha-Yesod begins its work at a great and tragic hour. The historic connection of the Jewish people with Palestine has been recognised by the Powers. The Mandate has been accepted by Great Britain. The Government of Palestine has been entrusted to a statesman whose presence at the head of the Administration is a sure pledge of British goodwill. Far different is the situation in Eastern Europe. Almost a third of the Jewish race is at this moment living under conditions of unendurable anguish. Harried, pillaged, uprooted from their homes, butchered without mercy, exposed to such an outburst of unrestrained savagery as Europe has not witnessed for four hundred years, entire communities are being relentlessly exterminated.

On the eve of its renaissance, in the presence of the lofty tasks that are summoning it to action, Jewry stands wounded and mutilated. It has butone hand free for constructive labour, with the other it is desperately struggling to ward off the implacable onslaught that threatens it with annihilation. A supreme effort is called for. To the message of confidence and goodwill from San Remo, to the storm of hatred unchained in Eastern Europe, let Jews of all countries and of all classes unite to give the same reply : build the Jewish Commonwealth.

The purpose of the Keren ha-Yesod is to bring about the settlement of Palestine by Jews on a well-ordered plan and in steadily increasing numbers, to enable immigration to begin without delay, and to provide for the economic development of the country to the advantage of its Jewish and its non-Jewish inhabitants alike.

That purpose is attainable. Room can be found in Palestine for a vastly increased population. Thousands are already waiting on the threshold. Let but productive employment be provided for them, and they can enter.

There is land to be bought and prepared, there are roads and railways, harbours and bridges to be built, there are hills to be afforested, there are marshes to be drained, there is fertile soil to be irrigated, there is latent waterpower to be turned to account, there are towns to be laid out, there are crafts and industries to be developed. Side by side with these undertakings, adequate provision is needed for the social welfare of the population, for public health, and above all, for education.

While the Manifesto implies that the Arabs would not be displaced, later in this book it is said explicitly:

In considering the future of agricultural colonisation, we shall begin with the question of the acquisition of the land.

When we speak of acquiring land in Palestine we must first consider whether there is land which can be acquired without turning out the original native population, the Arab Fellaheen. This question must be carefully considered, for it must be a fixed principle that we are to make a place for ourselves in Palestine, not by expelling others from their place, but by creating new opportunities. But is there really any possibility of finding room for ourselves without expelling others? A few figures will most effectually serve to dispel this doubt.

A lengthy calculation of the available land in Palestine follows, along with strategies of legally acquiring land. Not only is the forcible taking of land from (or expelling) Arabs never even considered, but it is explicitly denounced.

The Zionist movement always looked upon the settlement of the Land as a win-win for both Jews and Arabs. Perhaps it was a little over-optimistic, but the idea's shortcomings had at least as much to do with the hate fomented by the so-called Arab leadership that came after this plan was created as from simple naivete.

This Keren Ha-Yesod book is also striking in how well the Palestinian Jews followed this blueprint on building a nation where none existed, covering industries, energy, housing, city planning, hospitals, schools and universities. There might not have been a vacuum in Palestine before these initiatives, but there was close to a vacuum in building a national infrastructure that the Jews filled nearly independently.

UNRWA shows it colors again

Karen Abu Zayd, commissioner general of UNRWA who has a vested interest in maintaining Palestinian Arab suffering forever, has just said that there has been "no improvement" in the lives of Gazans since the "calm."

But in a new Ma'an story, it seems that Gazans feel so comfortable with the amount of goods they are getting through Rafah smuggling tunnels, thatthey are now importing entire zoos.

Lions, lionesses, swans, deer, otters, parrots and other creatures have been smuggled into Gaza, not only for zoos but also for some private individuals who want to impress others.

Is this how a starving people act?

Remember, the UNRWA continues to exist and get funding as long as they can keep Palestinian Arabs in "refugee" camps and away from even a hint of resettlement into other countries, as opposed to the UNHCR which works hard to eliminate refugee populations, not to grow them.